Improvement in corn-planters



' they occur.

@einen gieten K @sind ffice 'JARVIS CESE, 0E LAFAYETTE, INDIANA.

Leuen'patmt No. 81,066, and August 13,1868.'

IMPROVEMENT IN U0RN'ILANTEBS.

un .seem :umu m num zum Seam an mung nu n tu am.

To ALL'WnoM 1r MAY coNcERN: p I I Bo it known th'at I, .IAuvIS CASE, of Lafayette, in the county of Tippecanoe,.and State of Indiana, have v -invented certain new'and useful Improvements in 4Corn-Planters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a. full, clear, audexact description thereof, referencc'being had to the accompanying drawings,ma.king .partof this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever [To enable otners skilled in the 'art to construct and use my invention, I' will proceed to describe it.-

My invention relates to that'class of machines used for planting corn within team, and'consists in certain improvements in the construction thereof, as hereinafterexplained.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, with portion shown in section, on the line :cw'oi `iig. 2.

Figure 2 is a top plan view, and

Figures 3 and 4 are views-of portions detached.

In constructingmy improved machine, I make a rear frame, consisting of an axle mounted ontwo wheels; and having a. plank or platform, D, mounted thereon longitudinally over the centro,'as representedin iig. 2. Upon this platform, near the rear end, I locate a seat, T, for the driver, and transversely across its rear end is secured a bar, J, having a scraper,.l, attached close behind each wheel, for the purpose of sorapinglol the adhering dirt from the wheels. Just in front of the axle, the platform D is so shaped as to form a seat forgthc dropper, and to a.Y bar,-U, lying underneath the front part of the platform D, as ishown in iig. 1, is secured a.. transverse bar, I, for the dropper to rest his feet upon. I Y

.The front part of the machine consists of a transverse ned, A, supported upon two runners, B, the rear' ends of which are connected to the bed A, by vertical seed-tubes O, as shown in iig. 1, the front ends of the,L runners being connected by e cross-bar, E, to which and the bed, a tongue, F, is rigidly secured. A bar, U, is rigidly attached to the under. side of the bled A, and extends backward und-er the platform D, to near -tlie'ax'le, as shown in tig. -1, this bar U being mortised at its real" end,as shown in dotted lines in iig. 2, and provided with a Vseries of transverse holes, where mortised, for inserting a pin, o, as' shown in iig. 1. To the platform D, directly over the rear end of bar U, is pivoted a hook or catch, n, which projects downward, and has its lower end inclined or bevelled, so as to* work freely in the mortisc, and catch upon the piu o in bar U, as represented in iig. 1.

The platformD extends forward of the bed A, and is connected to the tongue F by means of a flexible or spring metallic strap, t, so that when the catch n-is unhook'ed, the rear end of the runners can move to'a limited extent vertically, independently of Athe rear part of the machine, and thus permit them to accommodate themselves to the unevenness of the surface of the soil in planting. When, however, for the purpose of turning the machine, at the ends'of therovrs,- or in 'travelling to and from tbe A ieldkit is desired to raise the-runnersfrom .the ground, the front partis conncctedx-igidly to the rear frame, by means of, the catch n, when tho drivervon: the seat 'l' will overbolance the frontframe, the dropper either getting o or moving ou tho platform-Eso sin shift his weight tothe rear side of the axle, and thuseelevate the front part, with the runners, clear from .the ground.

The sceding-mechanlsmconsists of two hoppen, H, mounted, as usual in this class of'moehinestonpposite ends of the bed A, directlyovcr'the runners, and-in line with 'tbe' wheels. Through' euch of. these hoppers; H, extends a seed-slide, connected to o bur, L, which is operated by' meins of an elbow-lever, Nj,- pvotedt b-uppn the bed A, its rear end being slotted and connected to the'bar L by a pin,fe, as shown in'iig'. 2. To theotber arm of the elbow-lever is pivotcd a rod, d,- which'extends back ss'tar as thefoot-rest I, vwhere itis-connected to an upright lever, P, th'e lower end of which rests'loosely'jin a mortise er recessjn the foot-rest there being a similar mortis in `the bnr I, on the opposite sirle efrpD, and.'u the elbow-lever N, with` its "rod slicing maday removable, so that they can be placed ou the opposite side, to enable the droppen te .ueesje'itlier-,hisjright-.or left hond at will, as indicated by the red lines in iig,` 2. v A i The cut-olfeis made of rubber, and is secured by a metallic piece, a, to a bottom board, C, which ts loosely in the bottom of the hopper II, so that whenever desired to change the seedslides w, which are made detachable, the bottom, C, with the cut-offs e, can be lifted out, thus allowing free access to the seed-slides zo. To adapt the machine to planting seeds of'various sizes, such as corn, sorghum, broom-corn, Ste., I provide a series of seed-slides, 20l1aving hol-es or cells of did'erentsizes, according to the size and quantity of seed to be planted, these seed-slides tting snugly in suitable mortises in the larger slides, y, as shown in iig. 2, so that they can be readily removed and others s'ubstituted'at pleasure.v I

The seed-tubes O are, placed directly under the openings in tho bottoni of the hoppers II, as usual, and have their lower ends terminating a short distance above the heel ofthe runner, to prevent them from becoming clogged with earth, as shown in tig. 1. The lower end of these tubes O has a solid portion extending backward, as shown insection in tig. 1, thus forming a -curved or inclined chute or passage for the grain. Near its rear end, a vertical duct or passage, t', is cut in one side of this solid projecting portion-of the tube O, this duct or passage v being cut to about one-halt` ofthe thickness 'of the solid part, as shown iu iig. 4. It will thus be seen that the grains, as they pass out of the lower end of thc tube, will be divided, one portion falling through the duet v, as shown by the black arrow, while the other portion passes out at the rear, as shown by the red arrow,

I ofthe slides, as is customary in this class of machines.

gs. 1 and 4, th'us separating or scattering the kernels in the hill, and giving the stalks a better chance to grow without bei'ng crowded, as is the case where all are deposited close together, as is usual lwith most machines heretofore made. l l

In the vrear side of the tubes O, which, are made open, are placed vertically-moving valves,f, the upper ends of which are connected to a leverfg, pivoted to the rear edge of the bed A, or to the hopper, as shown in iig. 3. Theilevers g are formed with a cam on their lower edg'e,and directly under them are placed slides, z, having` a 'similar'cam or projection on their upper edges,'these slides z' being attached rigidlyl to thc 'sliding bar L, so that whenever the bar L is moved, tbe slides z are moved also, and as they come in contact with the projections on the levers g, they raise the valvesf, and thus permit the escape of the seed in'the bottom of the tubes O, theAv movements of the parts being so timed, that the valvesfshall close in time to catch and hold in the tubes O the seed'that falls from the hopper above, ready for being deposited in the furrow at thesucceeding movement- In planting what is termed sod-lcorn, and where it is necessary to throw more weight upon the runners, iu order to make them cut the necessary furrow in the sed, I move the ldrivors seat,.T, from its position at the rear of theplatform, forward to the position shown in blue iu'fig. 2, thus bringing the weight of the driver over the bed A, and upon the runners B, thereby forcing them into the earth, and thus securing the proper depth of furrow. I Q

In those portions ofthe country where this class of machines is used, farmers are generally. provided with what are knownas sulkey-cultivators, which consist of a frame mounted ou-two wheels,with lcultivator-teeth attached, and having a'seat for the driver to ride upon. Where such are in use, the front part of my planter may be attached to and used with the cultivater-frame, thus dispensing with thorear'prtion ofthe planter, and savingr considerable expense te the farmer, and this can be the-more readily done, as t'he two machines separately are never both required for use at the same season ofthe year, the planter being used at planting-time or early in the season, and the eultivator beingrequiredfor use as a cultvato'r later'in the season, or after the corn has grown to a considerable height. A i

By these means I um enabled to produce a machine that operates in a very perfect manner, is adapted to planting a variety of seeds, and upon various soils, and that can be cheaply constructed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, is

1. Connecting thevfront und rear frames of the machine by means of the flexible plate when said parts` are combined substantially as described.

2. rheeatch n, pivoted to the rear frame, and arranged t'o engngenith the bar U, for locking the front and rear frames rigidly together, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The scattering-device, arranged `in the lower end of the seed-tubes, when constructed substantially as described.

4. The seat T, when arranged to he adjusted in rear of the axle, or over the front part of the platform,

substantially as described.

5. 'lhe combination ofthe valvef, pivoted Acam g, and lsliding arm z', attached to themed-slides, constructed and arranged to operate substantially as shown and described.

6. The removable hopper-bottom- C, having the cut-off e attached thereto, when constructed and arranged substantially as shown and described. f

JARVS CASE.v

Witnesses:

MARK Josas, Ennsr FLIsunAwAn. 

